Charles Gary Miller, Appellant v. Handle Construction Company, Appellee

Summary

The court held that an accepted offer of judgment may require an offset for money the plaintiff later received from a third party if that money rightfully belonged to the defendant. Although post-offer communications could not be considered in interpreting the offer, the offer's language and contemporaneous circumstances could establish an implied offset. Because the superior court did not determine whether the third-party payment belonged to Miller, the court reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing. Justice Christen, dissenting, would have held from the existing undisputed facts that Miller owned the payment and was immediately entitled to the offset.